The Rose and the Pape
by Allanna Stone
Summary: Snowflake was once a penniless orphan. But that was before she was pulled into Crutchie's life. Now she makes her living as a Newsie. When the strike turns her life upside down, she must learn to let in the people she once shut out.
1. Chapter 1

**The Rose and the Pape**

**I do not own Newsies or any of the songs mentioned for the sake of amusement.**

**SUMMARY:**

**Snowflake was once a penniless orphan. But that was before she was pulled into Crutchie's life. Now she makes her living as a Newsie. When the strike turns her life upside down, she must learn to let in the people she once shut out.**

**TWO NOTES FROM THE AUTHORESS:**

**There's a poll on my page- pleasy sneezy go and vote?**

**I now have a new fan page on Facebook called Allanna Stone- I will (hopefully) update everyday with new ideas and plot lines and even will be accepting fan art. Pleasy sneezy go and give it a like?**

"_**OY!**_" someone shouted as the unmistakable _zing_ of a slingshot catapulting its cargo sounded throughout the alleyway. The target was a young man, beefy in appearance and just as menacing, who had been beating a smaller boy. The pebble hit the back of the larger man's head, making his momentarily forget about his punching bag as he turned to the mouth of the alleyway to see who had attracted his attention.

"Pity," tutted the girl, stepping into the light, her face full of disapproval. "And here I was thinking that you didn't need to be smacked around no more, Delancy!"

The bigger boy- Oscar Delancy- growled as he lunged towards the smaller, much quicker girl, who used her size to her advantage.

First she slid under his legs, blowing him a raspberry just to taunt him. He turned around, confused for a moment and that was all the time she needed to strike. She kicked him in the knee before jumping out of the way as he fell. Finally, she punched his face, hard enough to leave a bruise, but not so he'd have broken teeth.

Before Delancy could get back up again, she had her foot on the back of his neck, putting pressure on her foot as a warning.

"I'd best not ever catch you giving anyone else a soaking, you hear me Delancy?" she growled, sending him a murderous look. "Now, _**BEAT IT!**_"

And with that, she forcefully pushed the bully out of the alleyway, glowering as he limped off, too scared to even glance behind him.

"Are you alright?" she turned her attention towards the smaller boy, who was trying to crawl towards a crutch that had been tossed to the other end of the alley. "Hey, slow down there- I'll get it."

When she returned with the crutch, she saw that the boy was trying to stand on his own. She handed over the crutch and helped him back onto his two feet before slinging his arm around her shoulder and helping him to walk out of the alleyway.

"Thanks," he finally spoke, wincing at the bruises that were already beginning to appear on his face.

"No problem," she turned to smile brightly at him. "We Newsies need to stick together, right?"

"What's your name? I don't think I've ever seen you around here before…" he asked her awkwardly.

"I'm Snowflake," she answered easily. "And for the never bumping into each other part, well I'm planning on starting tomorrow…" she trailed off, reaching the next block.

"Crutchie," he answered her unasked question, groaning as they crossed the street.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she asked him concerned as the came into view of Central Park.

"I think Delancy broke a rib or two," he gasped.

"Hold on- we're almost at the boarding house," she soothed him as she spied two more Newsies who were selling papes. "Cover your ears."

She took a deep breath before bellowing, "_**NEWSIE DOWN! NEWSIE DOWN!**_"

The two Newsies who were selling their papes looked up at her and quickly made their way over to where Snowflake was supporting Crutchie.

"What happened?" demanded one Newsie, his cowboy hat falling onto his back as he reached them first.

Snowflake gave a short description of what happened before the second boy ran up to them, along with a boy who must've been his younger brother.

"Crutchie!" squeaked the younger boy.

"Is he alright?" asked the older brother.

"I think that Delancy brother knocked up his gimp leg a bit," answered Snowflake. "Help me get him to the boarding house, wont you?"

While en route to the lodging house, Snowflake found out that the boy with the cowboy hat and red bandana around his neck was Jack Kelly, AKA Cowboy, and that the brothers were David and Les.

"Snowflake," Jack touched her shoulder, making her wince a bit before turning to face the dark haired Newsie. "Thanks for rescuing Crutchie."

"Us Newsies need to stick together, right?" she quipped at him, taking him aback for a moment.

"Yeah, that's right," he answered a second too late. "Say, where are staying?"

"In an alleyway not far from here, why?" she asked him causally.

"Because you'll need to stay with us if you're serious about becoming a Newsie," answered Jack just as casually. "Besides, it looks like there's going to be heavy rain tonight, and as much as I'd like to think you can fend for yourself, I don't like the idea of you being cold."

"Are you sure that your landlord won't mind?" she asked him with an arched eyebrow.

"Who, Kloppman?" scoffed Jack, folding his arms around himself. "Nah, he won't mind much. Just as long as there's no 'one on one', if you know what I;m talking about…" He waggled his eyebrows at Snowflake, making her cuff his arm.

"I get the gist," she scowled at him. "Well, if you're serious about that offer, I'd best be on my way and collect what little I have." She turned to leave, stopping when she heard footsteps behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw that Jack was walking with her.

"I don't like the idea of the Delancy brothers getting ahold of you," he muttered as she soon reached her own little alleyway, which was just a four foot opening between two buildings. She squeezed in without a problem and soon came out with a banged up suitcase in one hand and a violin case in the other hand.

"What, despite the fact that I basically beat up the dumbest of the Delancy brothers to a bloody pulp?" she scoffed, following Jack as he led the way down the street, back to the Newsies lodging house. "You needn't worry about little old me- I can take perfectly good care of myself, thank you very much!"

Jack's ears went red as they arrived at the well kept home, with him nodding at the older gentleman who was sitting down in an office next to the main entryway.

"What's this, Jack?" he asked, coming out of his office to peer at Snowflake.

"I'll just nip upstairs and find out where I'll be sleeping, alright Jack?" Snowflake muttered in a low voice before darting up the stairs.

She arrived in a huge one room bedroom which was strewn with bunks bed, on which there were boys napping, playing cards or chatting. When she entered, dozens of eyes zipped over to her and silence swept over the entire room.

"Listen up, I think everyone has heard of Snowflake," Jack announced, coming up behind her and resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Who hasn't?" sniggered a boy with a cigar hanging from his mouth. "Black jack," he called, tossing his cards down with a smirk.

"Crutchie's been calling for her," interrupted a taller boy with glasses, who had been tending to the injured boy.

Snowflake dropped her suitcase and violin case, belining for Crutchie's bunk, where she knelt next to him and took his hand.

"I'm here, Crutchie," she murmured as he grinned weakly before falling asleep. "I think he'll sleep for a bit. Its best to feed him soups for now, but nothing to crunchy- I don't like that bruise on his jaw." She lightly gazed her knuckle over the dark purple mark before pulling back quickly. "Oh boy…"

She had lifted off the boy's shirt to inspect his ribs and saw that there were several giant bruises that had already formed.

"If he had broken a rib, he wouldn't be able to speak," she mused, half to herself, half to comfort the other Newsies. "I think he's okay there…"

As she doctored him, she was aware of the other boys slowly going back to what they were doing previously. Jack came over to stand next to her as she fnished looking over him and sat back on her heels.

"He's a lucky one," she commented dryly without looking up at the leader. "If I'd arrived a second later, who knows what might've happened to him?" She sighed heavily as she stood up, arching her back into a stretch. "So where will I be sleeping?"

"You can have the bunk over Crutchie's, if you want…" Jack trailed off, noticing how beautiful her smile was when she flashed it at him.

"Thanks." She clambered up into the bed, taking along with her the suitcase and violin case, both of which she opened and began to make herself at home, stuffing her clothes underneath her pillow and her teddy bear under the covers. "If you don't mind, I think I'll retire early tonight…"

"Oh no, of course not!" Jack began to think of a way to get the other Newsies out so that way Snowflake wouldn't have to put up with their noisy chaos.

But Snowflake was already sound asleep.

**Is Snowflake too much of a Mary Sue? If she is, I'm sorry! But I was in the ER on Tuesday because I collapsed and my roommate freaked out a bit…**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Rose and the Pape**

**I do not own Newsies or any of the songs mentioned for the sake of amusement.**

**SUMMARY:**

**Snowflake was once a penniless orphan. But that was before she was pulled into Crutchie's life. Now she makes her living as a Newsie. When the strike turns her life upside down, she must learn to let in the people she once shut out.**

**TWO NOTES FROM THE AUTHORESS:**

**There's a poll on my page- pleasy sneezy go and vote?**

**I now have a new fan page on Facebook called Allanna Stone- I will (hopefully) update everyday with new ideas and plot lines and even will be accepting fan art. Pleasy sneezy go and give it a like?**

The next thing Snowflake knew was that a loud _**THUD**_ woke her up. Jerking up from her pillow, she blinked away the sleep from her eyes as she glanced blearily around, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"_**SHHHH!**_" hissed Jack, glaring at one of the boys, who dropped his boot in his hurry to get ready. "You'll wake her up!"

"Too late," announced Snowflake, rolling out of her bunk and landing with a solid sound. She stretched her arms with a yawn before turning to face Jack. "Morning," she greeted with another yawn.

"Morning, Snowflake," he greeted her, scowling at the Newsie, who scuttled off towards the wash room with a look of fear on his face.

"No need to get cranky, I would have woken up sooner or later," explained Snowflake, grabbing a fresh set of clothes and disappearing into the wash room, which she saw had several stalls. She nipped into the last stall and changed into cleaner clothes, coming out with a comb in hand and her curls flying every which way. She folded her dirty clothes and placed them up on her bed before tackling her curls, muttering as she struggled to tame them into a manageable side braid.

"Oh!" she groaned as she tumbled out of the wash room with an annoyed look. "I honestly want to hack my hair shorter!"

"Why? So that you can look like a boy?" sniggered the same Newsie who had thrown the comeback about Snowflake at Jack the night before. As Snowflake passed him, she smacked him on the back of his head, making him yelp loudly.

"There's no need for that, smart mouth," she informed him with a sniff, walking out onto the fire escape to comb her hair. She sat down on the stairs and began to expertly brush out her hair, humming in satiation as it obeyed and went into a side braid. "Much better." She stepped back inside, to find that Crutchie was awake and sitting up.

"Morning," she greeted him. "How are you this morning?"

"Better," he answered with a bright smile, swinging his legs out of bed and leaning on his crutch to stand.

"Are you sure you're up for today?" she asked him as he hobbled over to the wash room to get ready.

"Yep, nothing will happen to me today," he told her with confidence in his voice.

"How do you know?" Snowflake shouted as he disappeared into the wash room.

"Snowflake, since it's you're first day, you'll be my partner and I'll teach you the tools of the trade, how does that sound?" Jack came up behind her and slapped a hand onto her shoulder.

"Sounds like a plan," smiled Snowflake, turning into Jack's chest and smiling up at him.

"Two papes for a cent, we sell them for five cents each," Jack finished telling her as they reached the distribution center. "And also, follow my lead."

He winked at her, making her turn a bright shade of pink

Snowflake watched as he went up to the gate and started taunting the two men who were in charge of opening them. With a start, she realized that they were the Delancy brothers.

"Jack, let me," she whispered into his ear before removing her hat and beating it against her leg to fluff it up a bit. "Oy, Jack, I do believe that it'll rain again today!" she called out, squinting up at the sky. Jack followed her eyes and muffled a laugh as a flock of pidgins flew out from a tree and released their bowels onto the brother's heads.

"Karma's a bitch, isn't it boys?" she called out, cracking up again at the looks on their faces.

"Just you wait till we get our hands on you, Newsie!" growled Morris just as the work bell began to chime.

"Oh, I'm so scared!" she teased them with a sniff, following Jack as he led the way inside the gates, where she found Jack giving that man at the counter a tough time. She lined up behind him, scowling as he took his papes without so much as a word and went off.

"I swear, it's as though he was raised in a barn!" she muttered, taking out three dimes and handing them over with a small smile. "Thank you, sir."

"Anytime," he grunted, waving her out of the way so that the next Newsie could get his papes.

"How many did Weasel give you?" Jack asked, earning him a smart jab in the side as the two Newsies went off to Central Park.

"For the record, his name is Mr. Weisel and he is very nice!" she sassed him with a sniff. "I don't understand why you always taunt other so much!"

"Because it's fun and I can get away with it!" responded Jack, slinging an arm around Snowflake's shoulder and leading her over to where a huge cluster of people were milling around. "Now watch this."

He took a deep breath.

"EXTRA, EXTRA! FIRST LADY CAUGHT CHEATING ON HER HUSBAND!" he shouted and people started coming to him in flocks.

Quickly getting the idea, Snowflake quickly scanned the pape in her hand for any interesting articles.

"_**EXTRA, EXTRA! ELLIS ISLAND IN FLAMES! HUNDREDS FLEE IN PANIC! **_"

Jack looked over at the loud bellow and smirked when he saw Snowflake, who was hawking the headlines and raking in the dough.

It took only three and a half hours for them to sell their papes and Jack had never felt more proud. Snowflake could con her way into getting sales, either by "improving" the truth or by acting sick. Either way people gave her money in exchange for a pape.

"Now what?" Snowflake asked Jack lazily once they were finished with their sales.

"Come on," smirked Jack, wrapping his arm around Snowflake once more as he began to lead her through the streets. Soon they reached a place called Tibby's.

"Now, we eat," he informed her, pulling out a chair for her to seat herself into.

Fifteen minutes later, Snowflake was sipping at a chocolate milkshake quietly while Jack joked around with the other Newsies, most who had came in a few minutes after them. She was almost invisible to the other Newsies, as how she stuck to the outskirts of all the loud boys and was almost silent.

Finally, someone other than Jack noticed her.

"Hey," greeted Crutchie, plopping down next to her and smiling.

"Sell a lot of papes today?" asked Snowflake, flagging down a waiter to take his order.

"Eighty to count today," he answered with another smile. "I pull the old oh-I've fallen-and-can't –get-back up-can-someone-help-me-up-and-perhaps-even-buy-a-pape-off-me scam."

Snowflake tossed her head back and laughed, really laughed, a loud sound that was out of character for her petite self. But it seemed to fit her.

"I should've guessed you'd pull that one," she chuckled, finally getting herself back under control. "Jack taught me the basic- 'improving' the truth and playing sick."

"That's a good start," Crutchie said, beaming brightly at her.

"If you say so," she muttered, diving back into her milkshake.


End file.
